6 Reasons You Should Combine Payroll & Timekeeping
Paying your employees for the time they’ve worked is critical. But, it can take a lot of effort for you to track time worked and run payroll. It’s time-consuming and leaves a lot of room for error. But, a payroll program with a built-in time clock can help. Check out these six benefits of combining timekeeping and payroll.
1. Save time
Managing time records can be very time-consuming. Your employees have to remember to fill them out correctly and on time. Them, you may have to chase the timesheets down. After you have the information, you still need to get it into your payroll software.
Nobody has time for that. By combining your payroll and timekeeping in one program – like Workful – everything you need to run payroll is in one place. And, your staff doesn’t have to remember to turn anything in, so they can spend more time working, too.
2. Reduce mistakes
When workers fill out time sheets manually, it’s easy for them to forget on the way out the door. Then, they’re with stuck trying to answer questions like: “Was it Tuesday or Wednesday that I stayed late? How long was my break on Friday?” When they can clock in and out on their phone, you’ll get the exact times they clocked in, clocked out, or went on a break. So, you won’t have to worry about someone’s time being wrong accidentally.
You could also accidentally calculate the wrong number of hours. Maybe a team member clocked in at 8 AM and worked for 7 hours, but you see that “8,” so you accidentally write “8 hours.” Then, you have to transfer those hours to your payroll run, which opens you up to even more issues. There are too many opportunities for error. You won’t have to worry about any of that when you combine your payroll and time clock because the system will calculate the number of hours for you.
3. Keep records together
It can be challenging to keep up with your time and payroll records. But, with an all-in-one solution, everything is stored in one place. This can help reduce your risk of lawsuits because you’ll have records showing you paid your workers for their time worked.
Read also: How Long Should I Keep My Employees’ Records?
4. Add vacation time automatically
If your staff accrues paid time off (PTO) based on the number of hours worked, then a combined system is crucial to ensure you’re giving your team the right amount of hours off.
For example, if your employees accrue 4 hours of PTO for every 48 hours worked, that’s a lot to keep up with. You must make a note every time someone hits that 48-hour mark and track every instance of someone using their vacation time.
But, a combined payroll and timekeeping platform will track all that for you. The software will give your workers 4 hours of PTO every time they work 48 hours, and it will deduct any time they use. Plus, it will include PTO balances on paystubs, so no one has to hope they have enough left to go on that family beach trip.
5. Improve employee satisfaction
Have you ever paid someone for 38 hours when they actually worked 40? Then, you had to cut them an additional check or ask them if it was okay to include those 2 hours on their next paycheck? Even if your team is understanding, they can get annoyed if that happens too often.
When your time clock and payroll systems are integrated, you won’t have to worry about those kinds of mistakes anymore. Everyone will rest assured knowing they’re getting paid what they worked.
6. Save money
When your timekeeping software is separate from your payroll program, you’re paying for two different platforms, which can get expensive quickly.
With the combined system, you’ll also be able to track how much overtime your employees are working, so you can cut down on overtime pay. If you notice that someone is working a lot of overtime, you can figure out why.
- Are they overworked? Consider hiring someone to help them out. Read also: Is it Time to Hire?
- Are they procrastinating and need to work extra hours to get everything done? Have a conversation with them about how to be productive during business hours. Read also: 4 Ways to Improve Employee Time Management
Are you ready to save time and money? Workful is your all-in-one small business tool. Start your free trial today!